WA Divorce: Seattle Divorce Lawyer

Seattle Divorce Lawyer John Kydd has a unique focus for how he approaches divorce – he works with people in a humane and compassionate way.

His long history of success is a combination of his extensive knowledge of WA divorce law and his view that divorce, separation, and other family disputes must be addressed with intelligence, insight, and compassion.

John’s law practice, Kydd Family Law, has been involved in many different cases concerning Washington divorce law for over 30 years.

On this website we will provide you a wide range of helpful information meant to help you navigate through your situation.

If you have any questions about your own particular situation relating to WA divorce laws or getting a divorce in Washington, please don’t hesitate to reach out for your own free consultation.

LINKS TO INFORMATION ON WASHINGTON DIVORCE

More Information from Seattle Divorce Lawyer John Kydd:

Areas Covered
Filing Material in Court
Maintenance
Final Papers and Finishing the Process
Post Divorce Issues
Relocation
Modification of Maintenance

Information Below:

Areas Covered

Both Divorce and Separation address valuation and division of property and debt, spousal maintenance, child support, parenting, and attorneys fees and costs.

Washington is a community property state so all things earned or created by effort and all debts incurred are considered to be community property and will be divided equitably.

Equitable does not mean equal. It means fairly in light of the parties circumstances. Since the result is based on individual parties circumstances, the outcome depends on those circumstances. Thus, there are no simple formulas to predict the outcome.

Filing Material In Court

Materials filed in Court are public record which means that any member of the public can review them. Courts do allow some materials to be filed “under Seal” which means it will not be available to the public.

Court orders and most pleadings cannot be sealed but personal financial information, personal healthcare information and information regarding the children can be sealed for the protection of the parties and their children.

Maintenance

Maintenance is support for the spouse who lacks the present capacity to provide for him or herself. Where one party is the primary home maker they often often sacrifice their earning capacity to provide for the children. Maintenance is intended to return the spouse to economic self sufficiency. Long term maintenance is more likely in long term marriages or when a parent’s earning capacity is impaired.

Final Papers and Finishing the Process

A divorce, legal separation or parentage action all require entry of two documents if there are no children. These are the Decree of Dissolution and the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. If there are children the three more documents are required: A Final Parenting Plan, a Support Order with Worksheets and (in King County) a Certificate of Completion of the Parenting Seminar.

Post Divorce Issues

If the divorce concerns only property then there are few issues other than addressing the property and debt division. If assets are discovered later that were hidden then the Court will divide them and often in a fashion that makes the non-disclosing party pay for the costs of ending the non-disclosure. Otherwise property awards are rarely modified.

Child support, parenting and maintenance are subject to modification because needs and ability to pay change. Children develop and new expenses must be faced. Parents face relocation to keep their jobs. Parents remarry other parents and new dynamics emerge that may require mediation, collaboration or the assistance of the court. these issues are discussed in more detail below.

Relocation

We are a transient society. Jobs are no longer permanent and careers often require us to move to new locations. This can create significant chaos for children who will rarely be able to see the parent who used to live near by.

Generally speaking relocation within the school district is not a problem. Moving further requires consideration of eleven statutory factors and providing the non-relocating parent clear notice and opportunity to respond.

A good overview of the law can be found at http://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/issues/family-law/relocation. The statutory forms can be found at http://www.courts.wa.gov/forms/?fa=forms.contribute&formID=6.

Modification of Maintenance

Washington law allows modification in limited circumstances where there has been a significant change of circumstance. The statute addressing this is RCW 26.09.170:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=26.09.170. Modification for the payor of maintenance is more likely where earning capacity is substantially reduced due circumstances beyond the payor’s control. Modification of maintenance for the payee often relies upon finding an unanticipated change in circumstance for the payee that significantly limits their prior capacity to provide for themselves.

Maintenance can only be modified during the term of payment. If a disaster occurs after maintenance payments have stopped then the court does not have jurisdiction to be involved. Maintenance ends upon the death of the payor or the remarriage of the payee. The only way to stop this is to clearly agree in writing in the final papers that this will not be the case.

Kydd Family Law – “Family Focus”

Our firm focuses upon the life cycle of family needs such as:

* Divorce / * Mediation / * Collaboration /
* Litigation & Arbitration / * Psychological & Financial Planning